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iPhone iPhone Xs Personal Hotspot allows PC's to Connect but not Android Devices

tekfranz

tekfranz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2017
191
51
When using the iPhone Xs Personal Hotspot.... Windows and Apple Laptops connect fine to the iPhone Xs Hotspot.
However when connecting the Samsung Galaxy Tab A to the iPhone XS Hotspot the connection drops immediately.
Bluetooth internet also works to the Our Samsung Galaxy Tab A's but when we use the WiFi from the Personal hotspot the Android tablets cannot stay connected. They act like they are authenticating and the Hotspot briefly shows them connected but then the connection never finishes.
Troubleshooting we have tried on multiple iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy Tab A's:

  1. Verifying the Wi-Fi Passwords.
  2. Rebooting Both Devices.
  3. Toggling Airplane Mode.
  4. Trying with Bluetooth on
  5. Trying with Bluetooth Off.
  6. Ressetting the Network Settings
  7. Turning off our Home WiFi in case there was frequency interference.
  8. Changing Both the iPhone Name and the WiFi Password on the iPhone.
  9. Manually configuring a Connection.
  10. Resetting the Android Device.


Nothing helps so I guess we switch from Androids to iPad until there is a fix?
 
here is a similar problem with iPhone or iPad wifi hotspot.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-6-and-ipad-air-2-personal-hotspot-miserable.1888510/

iPhone and iPad are bad. Very probably are the wifi chip, design and iOS not good.

All devices the connect to the iPhone wifi hotspot have a not stable wifi connection or the wifi bar is not full (for full speed).
The Apple developer knows from this problem (I make many reports via bugreporter.apple.com), but not fix this.

In iOS 8 and iOS 9 (a forum user with iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air 2), iOS 10, iOS 11 and iOS 12 not fixed.
I have same tested with iPhone 7 (iOS 10 and iOS 11) and iPhone XS Max (iOS 12).
 
Last edited:
Lismange said:
here is a similar problem with iPhone or iPad wifi hotspot.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-6-and-ipad-air-2-personal-hotspot-miserable.1888510/

iPhone and iPad are bad. Very probably are the wifi chip, design and iOS not good.

All devices the connect to the iPhone wifi hotspot have a not stable wifi connection or the wifi bar is not full (for full speed).
The Apple developer knows from this problem (I make many reports via bugreporter.apple.com), but not fix this.

In iOS 8 and iOS 9 (a forum user with iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air 2), iOS 10, iOS 11 and iOS 12 not fixed.
I have same tested with iPhone 7 (iOS 10 and iOS 11) and iPhone XS Max (iOS 12).
Click to expand...

Sorry, I can only call that nonsense.

As part of my job I use hotspot to an iPad or windows laptop every single working day. I’ve done it with a 4s, 5s, SE, 6s, 7 and XS.

Full WiFi strength bar, and a full speed connection which is extremely stable.

I don’t recognise your description of its functionality one bit.
 
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d123 said:
Sorry, I can only call that nonsense.

As part of my job I use hotspot to an iPad or windows laptop every single working day. I’ve done it with a 4s, 5s, SE, 6s, 7 and XS.

Full WiFi strength bar, and a full speed connection which is extremely stable.

I don’t recognise your description of its functionality one bit.
Click to expand...
I can only explain your post as nonsense. I've tested with all these devices imac 2011, samsung galaxy s3, windows laptop 2006, lg g2, ipad air, nexus 5, iphone 7, and more... connect to a iPhone wifi hotspot.
wifi strenght bar is not full and the speed connection is low.

my current wifi hotspot device iPhone 7 and iPhone XS Max are bad.
Since years this problems. back then with iphone 4 and iphone 5 the same problem.

if I use a samsung galaxy s3 or lg g2 than wifi hotspot network, then all devices no problem. the iphone 7 or the new iphone xs max have the full wifi strenght bar.

how far are the devices from the iphone wifi hotspot?
I'm only 4 meters away and then there are the problems.

the further the distance, the worse. tested in a apartment. but no problems with the android devices. of course they get worse with a further distance, but not as bad as with the iphones.


I think the iphones have always had weak transmission power.
you probably only have positive effects because your devices have a strong wlan reception power, which doesn't mean that the overall transmission power of ios devices has improved in recent years.
 
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Lismange said:
I can only explain your post as nonsense. I've tested with all these devices imac 2011, samsung galaxy s3, windows laptop 2006, lg g2, ipad air, nexus 5, iphone 7, and more... connect to a iPhone wifi hotspot.
wifi strenght bar is not full and the speed connection is low.

my current wifi hotspot device iPhone 7 and iPhone XS Max are bad.
Since years this problems. back then with iphone 4 and iphone 5 the same problem.

if I use a samsung galaxy s3 or lg g2 than wifi hotspot network, then all devices no problem. the iphone 7 or the new iphone xs max have the full wifi strenght bar.

how far are the devices from the iphone wifi hotspot?
I'm only 4 meters away and then there are the problems.

the further the distance, the worse. tested in a apartment. but no problems with the android devices. of course they get worse with a further distance, but not as bad as with the iphones.


I think the iphones have always had weak transmission power.
you probably only have positive effects because your devices have a strong wlan reception power, which doesn't mean that the overall transmission power of ios devices has improved in recent years.
Click to expand...

Cool story, bro :rolleyes:
 
tekfranz said:
When using the iPhone Xs Personal Hotspot.... Windows and Apple Laptops connect fine to the iPhone Xs Hotspot.
However when connecting the Samsung Galaxy Tab A to the iPhone XS Hotspot the connection drops immediately.
Bluetooth internet also works to the Our Samsung Galaxy Tab A's but when we use the WiFi from the Personal hotspot the Android tablets cannot stay connected. They act like they are authenticating and the Hotspot briefly shows them connected but then the connection never finishes.
Troubleshooting we have tried on multiple iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy Tab A's:

  1. Verifying the Wi-Fi Passwords.
  2. Rebooting Both Devices.
  3. Toggling Airplane Mode.
  4. Trying with Bluetooth on
  5. Trying with Bluetooth Off.
  6. Ressetting the Network Settings
  7. Turning off our Home WiFi in case there was frequency interference.
  8. Changing Both the iPhone Name and the WiFi Password on the iPhone.
  9. Manually configuring a Connection.
  10. Resetting the Android Device.


Nothing helps so I guess we switch from Androids to iPad until there is a fix?
Click to expand...

Don’t think there is going to be a fix op.

Google using chrome os instead of android on their new slate tablet would lead consumers to believe android on tablets has now been deprecated. Same goes for android wear.

I think switching from androids to iPads will be your best bet.
 
I don’t think Apple will fix it anytime soon. I remember years ago trying to get my iPhone hotspot to connect to an android tablet and it wouldn’t. It’s better to use the hotspot to connect to other Apple devices like the iPad and MacBook.
 
Thanks for all the on topic replies .
Yes we did get some iPads and they connect to the iPhone X’s immediately.
What I find unusual is that our Windows Laptops connect fine as well. It’s just the Android’s that cannot connect to the iPhone Hotspot.
I would have thought WiFi protocols would be semi-universal.
Guess dropping more money into the Apple ecosystem and buying iPads is a workaround for this bug.
 
Last edited:
Interestingly enough, I happened to test this over the weekend. My husband couldn't connect his Samsung tablet to his Android phone's hotspot, so he tried connecting to my Max. Still no go. So he tried connecting his phone to my Max. No problem. Turns out it's a problem with his tablet.
 
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I wonder if it is a Samsung Problem? Because the tablets we are using were Samsung as well and could not connect.
 
AlliFlowers said:
Interestingly enough, I happened to test this over the weekend. My husband couldn't connect his Samsung tablet to his Android phone's hotspot, so he tried connecting to my Max. Still no go. So he tried connecting his phone to my Max. No problem. Turns out it's a problem with his tablet.
Click to expand...
The WiFi hospots on android phones work really well. I remember back in 2012 having my note 1 as a hotspot for my iPod touch and I could leave it on all day.
 
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Shanghaichica said:
The WiFi hospots on android phones work really well. I remember back in 2012 having my note 1 as a hotspot for my iPod touch and I could leave it on all day.
Click to expand...

Not always that good, if I hotspot from my Huawei P20 and don’t manually disconnect I find it’ll drain the battery before I get home, if I do the same with my iPhone it seems more intelligent and will disconnect or sleep after a period of no use and not impact the battery like that.

I have no problem connecting the Huawei to the iPhone hotspot, so the OP might have a point that it’s a Samsung problem.
 
Actually this scenario is not nonsense but conclusions cannot be made. I have similar problems but limited to Huawei Mediapad M3 Lite. Here’s what I have:


Personal Hotspots:

2 different iPhone XS Max from different carriers


Devices successfully using above 2 hotspots:

iPad Pro 9.7”

IPad Pro 10.5”

MacBook Pro 13” 2015

MacBook 12” 2016

Huawei P20 lite


Only the Huawei Mediapad was unsuccessful in connecting as described. It tried to authenticate 3-4 times but never got connected.


The Huawei Mediapad m3 can log on to home and public WiFi without any problems. Just the iPhone XS MAX hotspot.
 
Similar issues with an old Moto E4. It keeps trying to authenticate, but always fails. Been happening since launch day of the XS, never had problems with my iPhone 8Plus hotspot.
 
Having the same issue trying to use my iPhone XS Max as a hotspot to a brand new LG Phoenix 4. Acts like it tries to connect and then get the authentication error and wants the pwd typed in again. My MacBook pro and Windows Surface book will connect to the iPhone but not the LG.
 
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